“It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” – By Julia Swoish

Since we’re out of the countryside and are back in a big city, it’s about time we do some big city things. By my own definition, these “big city things” could just as easily be called “touristy things.” When I found out that I was going to Dublin, I could not wait to tour the Guinness Storehouse, and that is exactly what we did at noon today.

Does it get any more touristy than this?

Guinness has been brewing in Dublin since 1758. When you stop and think about it, it’s pretty crazy. The United States had not even become independent from Great Britain at that point in time, so you could actually say that Guinness is older than America. Since then, Guinness has had to spread its consumer base and increase popularity all over the world, not just in Dublin. Since I am an advertising major, I found the advertising floor of the storehouse to be incredibly interesting. A majority of their old ad techniques included animals, such as toucans and turtles, drinking a pint of Guinness.

Beyond that, the storehouse has a massive theater room with projector screens lining and wrapping around the rooms rounded walls, and they were playing and blasting Guinness’ television ads. The company has put out ads that seemingly have nothing to do with Guinness, such as one about ending segregation. Though that may seem a bit random, the ad does, in fact, have me talking about the company in my blog post, so the ad was clearly effective. It was unique, creative advertising that Guinness used that helped it to become recognized and appreciated all over the world.

At the storehouse, there were people visiting from all over the world. I met some other Americans and heard accents of people from various other European countries. The Guinness Storehouse has people willingly paying to come learn about the company’s rich history, so they are definitely doing something right in the way they promote their brand image all over the world.

I can’t go on without mentioning the best part: learning how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness and receiving a certificate at the end. If you can find anything better than sipping on a perfectly self-poured beer from the storehouses’s glass Gravity Bar that overlooks Dublin, please let me know. Sure, it was only one o’clock in the afternoon when I had a beer, but oh well, it’s five o’clock somewhere.